Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins

Rating:
Summary: Civil War Journal is the best series of its type
Review: Far and above other purported documentaries, including Burn's "The Civil War", this set examines the beginning of the war, the catalysts in the conflict and the motivations of the pivotal players. John Brown's raid, often ignored in studies of the Civil War, did indeed help set the stage for the inevitable split between the states. Madman to the south, martyr to the north, he helped ignite simmering differences into a firestorm. THe history of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is also covered much better than the longer but Hollywoodized "Glory." Beautifully narrated by Danny Glover, this collection is a must for serious historians, reenactors, students of the Civil War, and fans of the tv series.

Rating:
Summary: Good Civil War Refresher Course
Review: The History Channel's "Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins" is a collection of four episodes detailing some of the significant events prior to and during the early days of the American civil war.

Each episode is 43 minutes in length and is a self-contained documentary focusing on one particular subject, person, or group. Each episode provides a very nice summary of the event and/or people involved and the corresponding effect on the overall war. Although the episodes are arranged in chronological order, they can stand independently and can be watched in any order without affecting your understanding of the material.

Danny Glover lends his voice as the narrator of all four episodes and keeps the story flowing. (He really can't pronounce the word "Massachusetts," though, which is a little grating on the nerves during what was otherwise my favorite episode - the one titled "The 54th Massachusetts.") Comments are liberally provided from various historians, particularly the well-known William C. Davis, author of the recently released "An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government."

Having recently become interested in civil war history, I bought this DVD set hoping it would be a useful and quick refresher course that would provide a general background into the major events of the war. Definitely not disappointed, I constantly found myself realizing that not only was the series a good refresher, it actually was quite entertaining. The episodes are very well written, unfold with quite a bit of drama, and contain a surprising number of interesting little-known facts (at least they were new to me).

I'm looking forward to further releases of the "Civil War Journal" series and will certainly add them to my library.

Rating:
Summary: Good Civil War Refresher Course
Review: The History Channel's "Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins" is a collection of four episodes detailing some of the significant events prior to and during the early days of the American civil war.

Each episode is 43 minutes in length and is a self-contained documentary focusing on one particular subject, person, or group. Each episode provides a very nice summary of the event and/or people involved and the corresponding effect on the overall war. Although the episodes are arranged in chronological order, they can stand independently and can be watched in any order without affecting your understanding of the material.

Danny Glover lends his voice as the narrator of all four episodes and keeps the story flowing. (He really can't pronounce the word "Massachusetts," though, which is a little grating on the nerves during what was otherwise my favorite episode - the one titled "The 54th Massachusetts.") Comments are liberally provided from various historians, particularly the well-known William C. Davis, author of the recently released "An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government."

Having recently become interested in civil war history, I bought this DVD set hoping it would be a useful and quick refresher course that would provide a general background into the major events of the war. Definitely not disappointed, I constantly found myself realizing that not only was the series a good refresher, it actually was quite entertaining. The episodes are very well written, unfold with quite a bit of drama, and contain a surprising number of interesting little-known facts (at least they were new to me).

I'm looking forward to further releases of the "Civil War Journal" series and will certainly add them to my library.